Only Julian
by madasmonty
Summary: "Perhaps Julian wouldn't be here. A shiver made its way up her spine. Not from cold, but from fear..." Jenny is haunted by Julian. But what if he's not just a memory? What if the Shadow Man has found a way back to her? Please read & review! COMPLETE!
1. Only a Dream

Chapter One

Only in a Dream

_It was a peaceful place. Below, the cerulean ocean crashed into the cliff upon which Jenny sat, looking down. Perhaps this dream would be different. Perhaps _he_ wouldn't be here. Although she hoped for this, she knew that it wouldn't be true. She knew that _he _would come along soon. A shiver made its way up her spine. Not from cold, but from fear. Looking up, Jenny saw the sun in a sea of pure blue sky, with only a few clouds dotting it. It seemed like the perfect idyllic place._

_"Now all I need is for _him_ to come and ruin it all." Jenny said spitefully to the beautiful landscape. She narrowed her eyes at the sun, as if expecting the aforementioned _him_ to descend from it._

_"What makes you think," came a voice. Jenny closed her eyes, wishing for him to go away. "I'll ruin it all?" the voice continued. Never, before she had met _him,_ had Jenny thought that a voice could sound so threatening with one sentence._

_"Now, that's not really fair to assume such." the voice came again. This time, Jenny was sure that he was behind her._

_"Go away." she whispered, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself._

_"No, I don't think I shall." a hand was on her cheek now. Cold, icy cold._

_"This is just a dream." Jenny whispered. She jerked her head away from the hand, but to no avail. Another hand was placed on her other cheek._

_"Is that what you believe?" the voice was harsher now and the hands were pressing hard on her face, "It is, Jenny?"_

_"Yes." Jenny said, although even to her she sounded weak and unsure. The hands moved from her cheeks to rest loosely around her neck. She shivered, keeping her eyes closed. Just the slightest pressure from those hands with the long, spider-like fingers could cease breath from entering her body. Jenny was sure that's what he wanted. For her to be dead._

_"Really?" the voice continued._

_"It _is_ a dream!" Jenny insisted, wishing with all of her heart that she could believe that. The hands around her neck increased the pressure and her breath began to become harder to get._

_"Open your eyes, Jenny." the voice said, harshness evident and growing._

_"No!" Jenny yelped as the pressure on her neck continued to increase. She knew what she would see if she opened her eyes. She would a pale face, almost as pale as death. Twin piercing blue eyes would peer out at her from obsidian eyelashes, contrasting sharply with the paleness of his skin. In front of those impossibly blue eyes would fall locks of hair so white that it shone._

_"Open your pretty little eyes, Jenny." he said, softly this time. "Don't you want to look at me again?" He laughed seductively now. "You used to _so love _looking at me..."_

_Jenny swallowed. It was obvious that, if she wanted to live, she would have to open her eyes. Screwing up her courage, she started to open them..._

...and saw a ceiling. She blinked a few times, to get the sleep out of her eyes and to ease her confusion. _What on earth?_ she wondered, trying to place where she was. Rubbing her eyes, she realized that she was back in her bedroom, safe and sound. She quickly sat up, dropping a small object that was in her hand. Her eyes were wide and her heart was racing beneath her ribcage. Her brown eyes darted around the dormitory, looking anxiously for him. When she saw that he wasn't there, she dropped her head in her hands.

"Why won't he leave me alone?" Jenny moaned, rubbing her index finger and thumb over her eyelids lightly. Stopping, she looked up, glancing around the room, "Why won't you leave me the hell alone, Julian?" she demanded loudly of the empty space.

She could almost hear his reply: _Because I like being around you, Jenny. I love you. Remember? _

"But you're gone." Jenny said, shaking her head violently. "Your name was cut off the Stave of Life. I watched as you died. I saw the light leave your eyes." She left the words unspoken- Your beautiful, icy, haunting eyes... "You're _gone._" She repeated for emphasis.

_But what if,_ Julian's voice whispered to her again. It terrified her even though she knew it was in her head. _What if, like Michael said, someone carved my name back?_

Jenny sat, frozen with this thought. It couldn't be hard. The Shadow Men would never have wanted one of their own to die. They could have just taken that knife and... No. She couldn't think anymore. She felt sick.

Shaking her head as if to shake the memories of him, she backed towards the door. As soon as she reached the door, she turned and ran. She hadn't gotten more than two feet when she crashed into someone. She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as loud as she could.

"Jenny!" A voice came from below, in the hall. Jenny fluttered open her eyes to see Tom running up the stairs. She stared blankly at him for a moment. She tried to call his name, but all that escaped from her throat was a strangled cry. She tried to run towards him, but she tripped. The last thing she saw was the stone staircase that led down to the common room rushing to meet her as she fell.


	2. Only in Limbo

Chapter Two

Only in Limbo

The floor rushed towards her face quicker than anything Jenny thought imaginable. It was if she was falling at the speed of light. However, just before she hit the ground, time seemed to slow almost to a stop. As if she was moving in slow-motion, she twisted her head to look up at Julian. Something was wrong with her eyes, she could tell that by the way his features were blurry, unclear and unable to be recognized. All that the girl could make out was a white blob which was Julian's hair. Then, a sharp shock came to the back of her head. She had hit the floor and her eyes rolled up into her head, effectively plunging Jenny's world into a black abyss, the image of Julian burned in her mind...

There was an odd sensation creeping up over Jenny's body, as if she was falling. But that was impossible, there was darkness all around her. But no, there was the feeling of tumbling over and over into infinity. Her eyes were open, yet she saw nothing, even though she strained hard to see. Only by feel was she able to place her hand on her face, and then move it slightly away. Still, she saw nothing.

Simply blackness all around.

Just falling,

falling through and endless space...

Jenny wrapped her arms around herself as a chill seemed to permeate her spine. _You'll be all right_, she told herself firmly, even though, in the pit of her stomach, she certainly had doubts.

A sudden jolt travelled up her spine, as if her feet had suddenly hit ground. And, judging from the fact that she fell to her knees and felt something solid beneath her, she had hit ground. Jenny sat there, momentarily stunned. She hesitantly reached out with a trembling hand to touch the ground. It was most certainly solid, and cold as ice, but not wet or slippery. In fact, it had remarkable traction, Jenny realized as she hesitantly stood up. It was chilly where she was, almost as if it was in the middle of winter. She quickly sat back down, bunching herself up into a ball, to conserve body heat.

"Where am I?" Jenny asked aloud, her voice sounding weak and thin in this large black expanse. _Wait a minute_, she thought as she squinted in the darkness, _I can see_. And that was true. It seemed that the darkness had seemingly become lighter, enabling her to see a bit.

Above her, as far as she could see in any direction, was a dark expanse of grey clouds, ranging in hue from off-white to a threatening almost-black. Beneath her, she felt the ground, hard as a rock. Jenny moved her hands about her gingerly, trying to feel her way around in the semi-darkness. It was still almost too dark for her to see, so this was her best bet on how to find her way. Suddenly, her fingertips brushed against a sharp rock. She hadn't put much pressure on the rock, but it had still managed to cut her still. Jenny cried out and her voice echoed slightly. She then brought her hand in front of her face and saw in the dim light that she was shaking. Jenny brought her bleeding finger to her mouth and felt the metallic tang of blood on her tongue. She gingerly reached out with the other hand, but found no other obstacles.

"Where am I?" Jenny whispered again, now she could see a bit more. The expanse was continually lightening, as if it was sunrise. But still, there was nothing around as far as she could see. Just a grey expanse of sky above her and a solid black expanse below her. Black rock, hard as diamonds.

"Well, if you were to call it anything, I'd say it's limbo." a very familiar voice said. Jenny whirled around and looked up to see Julian there, looking as cool and collected as always.

"Get away from me!" Jenny shrieked, scrambling backwards from the white-haired male, "You already made me fall down the stairs! Go away! I don't want anything to do with you!"

He hadn't spoken through her outburst, just stared at her. Like he was looking right through her. That look sent an unwanted thrill through Jenny. Like she _wanted _him to see her. Like she wanted to feel his icy hand on her face. But no. Remember Tom. Tom.

Finally, after the moment it took Jenny to feel all that, Julian spoke again. "Actually," He began pleasantly, "I wasn't the one who made you fall down the stairs. I do not have a physical form. I couldn't have pushed you if I'm not solid, could I?"

Jenny paused, still on the ground, to muse this over. He didn't have a physical body - _Thank God_, she sighed. She looked back up at the Shadow Man and flinched as he walked towards her.

"Get up," Julian said sharply.

"Just leave me alone." Jenny said, trying to keep the weakness out of her voice. "I was moving on. I have Tom now. Please leave me alone."

"Certainly," Julian smirked, executing a sweeping bow. He turned and started to walk away, standing out clearly against the monochromatic landscape. As Jenny watched him saunter off, walking as if he owned the world, an icy fear gripped her stomach.

"Hey!" Jenny called after him, "Wait!" No reply from the walking Shadow Man, who continued along, ignoring her, "How am I supposed to get out of here?"

His light voice floated back across the distance, "Don't ask me. You told me to go away."

"You're impossible, Julian!" Jenny screamed after him, sinking to her knees. She looked down at the ground, her eyes filling with tears. Obviously, she was stuck here and her only way out was walking away from her. _Stop it, _she told herself, _if you keep thinking that, then you really will be stuck here forever._ "There has to be a way out." she muttered to herself, still looking down at the ground. Roughly, she wiped the tears from her eyes, _I will _not_ cower like some weak little thing, _Jenny resolved.

"Oh, there is a way out," said Julian, smugly. Jenny looked up to see him standing beside her.

"How..." Jenny trailed off, her brow furrowed in confusion. Feeling vulnerable on the floor next to him, she stood up quickly.

"I've learned to manipulate this place to my needs," Julian said, fixing her with a condensing look, "When you've been here for..oh...about three years now, it's really helpful to know how to manipulate limbo." He paused for a second, thinking. "It's not much different to the Shadow World really."

"Limbo?" Jenny inquired.

"Yes." Julian said. His voice sounded like a wall. He was done talking about where they were or why he was here.

Unfortunately Jenny didn't notice the sorrow behind his voice. She was too focussed on getting out of here.

"How do I get out of here?" Jenny asked, panic rising in her stomach.

"Well now, Jenny dear," Julian said, his tone patronizing as he smirked down at her, "That's for me to know and you to find out."

Then, he started to laugh. Not a slight snicker, but full-blown hysterical laughter. Julian's eyes gleamed as he threw his head back, still laughing. Jenny simply started at him, why was he laughing?

"What?" Jenny asked, backing away from him. Julian was acting as if he were some crazed lunatic.

Jenny stopped backing away and looked down at the ground. It was no longer smooth, as a matter of fact; the ground was as far from smooth as it was possible for it to be. The solid rock had broken into millions of sharp, pointed smaller rocks that jutted out, like a rocky cliff. Jenny's eyes were wide as she turned in a circle, this went on for as far as she could see in every direction. She turned back to Julian, her eyes wide and frightened, "How..." she trailed off, swallowing hard, "What happened?"

"You happened, precious Jenny," Julian said, laughter still breaking out from him in spurts. His eyes were gleaming, like those of a madman and he had a horrible mad smile on his face, "You did this."

"No...no..." Jenny whispered, backing away, slipping on the protruding rocks. She would've fallen, had Julian not grabbed her hands. "What are you doing?" she whispered, eyes wide.

"Yes... yes..." He said, smiling.

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked, as she was being whirled around.

"Don't you know, Jenny?" Julian mocked her. "Tell me when you dreamt of me. When did you keep your promise and dream me into the light?" His voice was angry now, full of malice and fury. "Let me answer for you. You didn't. Now I am _here._"

Jenny wasn't really listening. It was taking almost all of her concentration not to trip on the rocks. She had never been one for twirling around because she got dizzy very, very fast. And this was no exception. Her mind was whirling, the scenery turning into blurring streaks of monochromatic shades of grey. The only thing that was clear was the face of Julian and even that was becoming blurry. She felt herself trip, as if she was detached. She tripped and fell.

"What's the matter?" Julian's voice floated down to her, "Are you all right?" The world was fading into darkness once more...


	3. Only a Headache

Chapter Three

Only a Headache

"...All right?" it was still a question, but the voice was different, one more familiar, heard every day of her life. It was Zach, her cousin. Zach wanted to know if she was all right.

"She'll be all right," That was Michael. He sounded calm and sure. "All she did was fall."

"And hit her head off a stone staircase!" came Zach's fiery voice. Obviously he was hacked off "And then she fell the rest of the way!"

"I don't understand it," a new voice said. Jenny's ears perked up, it was Tom.

"What do you mean?" a third voice, this one female. Dee.

"I was walking up there to tell her something," Tom said, "And she came flying at me. Then she screamed and fainted."

"Why would she do that?" Summer puzzled.

"I don't know," Tom sounded confused and Jenny felt a pang. He had every right to feel confused. She herself was confused...she had bumped into Tom?

Something clicked in her mind and it all made perfect sense. Jenny had been blinded by fear and, in her panicked state of mind, she had mistaken Tom for Julian. She groaned at her mistake.

"Jenny?" came the question of Tom immediately. Jenny slowly opened her eyelids to see the faces of her Zach, Tom, Michael, Audrey, Dee and Summer there.

Jenny closed her eyes again and shuddered. She opened her eyes and gazed up at the three around her, "My head," she mumbled, bringing one hand to her forehead. She rubbed a temple and winced. There was a continuous pain in her head; a throbbing ache that didn't seem like it was going to go away any time soon.

"Are you okay?" Tom asked quickly, his voice sounded worried.

Jenny sighed inwardly and thought. _I really should love him._

Her eyes flew open at that thought. Where had it come from? What did she mean? Of course she loved Tom. He was goodness. He was light. He was everything everyone thought was right for her.

_But he's not Julian, is he? _The voice in her head continued. _He doesn't touch you softly in your dreams, spinning webs around your senses. He doesn't throw open corridors that had been closed before and shed dark light on your innermost thoughts. He doesn't make your heart flutter and make you want to collapse and let him do whatever he wants to you..._

Suddenly Jenny lost her resolve. She knew the inner voice, as awful as it was, was right. Julian called to her dark side and made her feel more alive than she ever had before. She was damned. She loved a Shadow Man.

Jenny opened her eyes to see that everyone else had left. She had no idea how long she'd had her eyes shut. Had she fallen asleep?

Her eyes roamed the room to see that Tom was still sitting in the chair beside her bed. She felt a pang of sadness: He hadn't left her. But when Jenny saw him she was surprised at how tired he looked.

"Are you okay?" She asked. He looked up, as if shocked to see she was awake. But he answered her anyway.

"Actually, I'm not," Tom replied, "I haven't been sleeping well lately and I wanted to catch up on some rest."

"Really?" Jenny asked, "You're having nightmares too?"

"Nightmares?" Instantly a concerned look came into Tom's eyes, "What about?"

She was about to tell him everything - how Julian had been taunting her in the dreams, how he hadn't left her alone even though everyone had thought so. But something stopped her, "Nothing, just trivial things," Jenny lied, of her own accord. She didn't want Tom to worry.

"Are you sure?" Tom asked, concern still showing blatantly on his face, "I mean - "

"Tommy, it's nothing," Jenny said firmly, holding a hand up to his cheek. "Trust me, there's nothing wrong."

"But you said -" He began to protest.

_I want him to be quiet and stop talking about these nightmares,_ Jenny thought, trying to keep herself from screaming. If someone were to get her to talk about the dreams she had been having, more than likely she would have a nervous breakdown. And it seemed that Tom seemed intent on pushing her down that path. _How can I get him to stop talking about it_? She wondered, trying to block him out but to no avail.

"Tom, stop it," she commanded, closing her eyes, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Thorny, what's wrong?" instead of getting him to stop pressing her about her dreams, it had made him more concerned.

_Cover his mouth_, was the natural thing that came to Jenny's mind, _Or make a quick escape._ Another suggestion resounded through her mind.

Jenny winced and put her hand to her head, "Tom, I'm fine. It's all right. The nightmares are over. I haven't been having them recently, so it's all right. I just have a bit of a headache left so I'm going to go lie down, all right?"

"If that's all it is," Tom said with suspicion slightly evident in his voice. He took a deep breath, then sighed, "Of course it is. And if your head does hurt, you should go lie down so you don't make it worse."

"Thanks," Jenny smiled wanly, "I knew you'd understand." _But does he really?_ she asked herself as she stood up and walked away back to her room, _Does he really understand you?_


	4. Only Noticing

Chapter Four

Only Noticing

Nobody really noticed Zach. He was quiet and supposedly "out of it". But he had the eye of an artist. He saw everything. He saw the way Jenny flinched slightly from Tom's touch and how she didn't look with sickening love in her eyes anymore. He noticed how she was cagey with her responses.

"You OK, Jen?" He asked his cousin when she floated past him with a dazed expression on her face. She seemed to be worlds away.

"Oh yeah... I'm alright thanks Zach." Jenny managed a half-hearted smile.

Zach thought she was just in shock from the fall. He didn't want to worry anyone so he left it.

But, somehow, Zach knew what was wrong. Jenny was haunted by the person he'd always feared and slightly admired. Julian.

_That's right Zach. _An amused voice said in Zach's head. He still heard Julian sometimes and now was no exception. _Jenny is mine. _And Zach shook his head wildly to rid the cold laughter that had suddenly filled it.

Summer hadn't really realised anything was especially wrong. But she wanted to be a good friend so she went round to Jenny's house at the soonest opportunity. Summer rang on Jenny's doorbell at around midday on Saturday.

Summer had never really gotten over her experiences with Julian in the Shadow World. She had never faced up to her fears. It had almost killed her. Now Summer took extra care to cross the road when she saw a bin or she shuddered when she saw litter. Her bedroom was immaculate since her ordeal. She eyed Jenny's recycling bin warily, as if it were about to rear up and attack her just like it had before...

She pulled her fluffy cream jacket around herself and shivered slightly. _Don't think about it. You're here to see Jenny._ She told herself.

She waited a few more seconds before ringing again. No answer.

It was unlike Jenny not to answer the door. Maybe she was asleep.

But, somewhere in her, Summer knew what was bothering Jenny. The startlingly handsome boy who stalked her in her nightmares. Julian.

And, as Summer turned away and walked back down the street, she thought she saw a white haired boy all in black dart around the corner and down the alley ahead of her, laughing.

In her bedroom, Audrey sat on her bed on Sunday as the phone rang and rang. She wound the wire around her finger and waited for Jenny to pick up. This was the fifth time she'd tried to call her friend in three days since her fall. She was worried and hoped Jenny was alright. Tom, Summer and Zach all reported she'd been acting weird.

When she got a voicemail for the fifth time, Audrey hung up. No point leaving a message when she knew what was wrong. She knew what Tom and Zach and Summer had all realised. Jenny was in love with the only person who had made Audrey feel insecure. Julian.

Audrey's head flew up as she saw something move in the mirror. The door opened and she watched the reflection as Michael came in. He spent a lot of time with Audrey now and he sat down on her bed and looked concerned at her.

"What is it Audrey? You look like you've seen a ghost." Michael smiled slightly, as if this notion was ridiculous.

But Audrey shook her head ferociously. She hadn't seen a ghost. She _couldn't _have. There was no way she'd seen what she thought she'd seen. Because Audrey could have sworn, before Michael opened the door and came in, that she'd seen Julian nonchalantly leaning against her wall and grinning from ear to ear.

Michael nodded. He knew Audrey wasn't alright. He wasn't sure what was wrong but he knew _something _was wrong. He stood up and stretched. He'd phone Tom. Tom would know what to do. Michael wasn't really worried more vaguely perplexed.

He went downstairs and used the phone in the kitchen. Sitting on the kitchen side comfortably, Michael listened to the ringing and imagined the phone ringing in Tom's house. He'd always liked listening to the sound a ringing phone, the anticipation of someone answering.

_Ring, ring... Ring, ring..._

_Fffff..._

_Ring, ring..._

_Faaam..._

_Ring, ring..._

_Famished..._

Michael threw the phone down so fast the back came off and the batteries went flying across the floor.

Dee wasn't good with emotions. She didn't _do _feeling worried and scared because it distracted from her training. But even she couldn't push away the worry she felt for what Zach, Tom, Summer and Audrey had told her. Jenny was sick. It was Monday morning and Dee was standing in front of her punch-bag, realising how pointless this was.

_I should be helping Jenny._ She thought, trying to convince herself. _What could you do? _A snide voice answered her. A shudder shocked through her spine when she heard that voice, He was the voice always heard when she doubted herself. It was Julian. _You couldn't help her. She's with me now. You can do nothing. Jenny is mine. _

They all knew what was happening. The spaces between the Shadow World and Earth were closing. Somehow Julian was back and he was haunting Jenny. And there wasn't a thing any of them could do about it.


	5. Only Tired

Only Tired

"I think I've grown to like it here Julian," Jenny said in a light voice.

Her voice was often light, here in the Shadow World. Light and care-free. With each passing day she spent with Julian. Jenny grew more and more removed from life. She barely remembered her friends. In fact she felt like she'd lived in Limbo with Julian forever. What college was she planning on going to? When was the last time she watched a movie? What was the name of the love of her life? Well, that last one was easy.

But, just to clarify, Julian asked her. "Jenny?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about... Tom?" God even his name made Julian feel sick.

"I've told you a hundred times Julian. _You're_ the one I want. Not Tom. I thought it was him, but you can offer me much more. I want to stay here forever with you."

Right. That solved that. Julian smiled triumphantly.

Jenny smiled dreamily, letting her head fall onto Julian's chest. "Julie... I have something I want to tell you."

"Anything my angel." Julian smiled down at her. He'd grown to love these long lazy days with Jenny. _His_ Jenny. Truly, she'd fallen under the enchantment of Limbo. He used to hate her for forgetting him and therefore banishing him here, but now he loved her all over again. He'd succeeded this time. He'd won. Jenny was his and now, once he and Jenny returned to Earth, Julian could watch Tom squirm.

That thought bought a smile to the Shadow Man's face. Thomas Locke. How Julian hated him with a passion. He wanted Tom to watch as he and Jenny finally showed their love for each other. Perhaps they could kiss in front of Tom. That would surely crush his soul. That boy had almost cost him the love of his long life. Almost. What a delicious word. Almost. Almost, but not quite. Almost, and yet she was still his. Julian wouldn't want to do things that would hurt Tom if he thought they'd hurt Jenny too. However it seemed Jenny had had a change of heart, and didn't really care about Tom. Nor anyone, for that matter, except Julian.

Jenny had gone quiet. Ever so gently, Julian shook her shoulder. "Jenny?" He asked softly. "What did you want to ask me?"

Jenny murmured and mumbled. "Sssh, Julian. I'm tired." She whispered and snuggled against his leather jacket.

Julian was momentarily confused. Tired? Jenny? But then he shrugged it off. She was fine. There was no need to get paranoid.

He lay back on the cool stone ground and watched the shapes moved in the sky. The grey senseless patterns that swirled above in Limbo weren't quite clouds. Julian had never worked out _what_ they were. Other trapped Shadow Men? Souls? He didn't care either. They didn't frighten him: nothing frightened him. Nothing, except the thought of losing Jenny again. The mere thought of that made him shiver despite the mild temperature of Limbo. To be in this endless cold world without his Jenny... Unthinkable.

Listening to the reassuring breathing of his love beside him, he sighed contentedly. He finally had her. Eventually they would be together eternally and, after returning to Earth to see Tom and those other annoying humans killed, they could rule over Limbo forever. Together forever. Too good to be true.

Julian gently stroked Jenny's hair as she slept with one hand and, with the other hand; he ran his fingers along the dead and desolate ground. From out of the rock grew a silver rose. The youngest Shadow Man had learnt to manipulate this world just as he had the Shadow World. In fact it was easier here, because Limbo was less substantial. Smiling softly, he plucked the rose from the stone and studied it. It was exquisite, as was anything Julian created. Such an opposite to the horrifying creations of his Shadow Men brethren.

He carefully traced the petals of the rose down Jenny's cheek, the cold silver leaving a line of glitter down her face. She didn't stir. Laughing a little at how innocent she was, how stubborn to not be awoken from her slumber, Julian shook her shoulder a little. Still, Jenny didn't wake up. His blue eyes flashed with worry. She didn't even appear to be breathing.

Julian stood up quickly, laying her head on the stone. Not a breath. Not a movement.

"Jenny?" He whispered. "Dear God, Jenny please wake up." He crouched beside her, feeling the panic rising in his chest. This was just like that time in the cave, in their last game, but she'd woken up that time. "Please Jenny. _Please_. I love you. You need to wake up."

If thousands of years of watching suffering humans had taught Julian anything, that was what they looked like when they were dead. Jenny didn't look dead, not cold and stiff and unresponsive; but she didn't look wholly alive either. She just seemed... empty. In fact, if Julian had to pin-point on difference about her, then that would be that she was fading.

And then something remarkable happened, even for Julian's standards.


	6. Only Losing

Chapter Six

Only Losing

Julian watched in absolute horror as Jenny faded before his eyes. He reached out frantically, his pale hands grasping the air as she literally evaporated. In all his hundreds of years as a Shadow Man, Julian had only ever seen one of his kind die. They simply faded from existence, just as he had done in front of Jenny when he died. But now it was the other way around. She was fading. And fast.

Collapsing to his knees, Julian stared at the space where she had lain. Confusion didn't penetrate horror and despair at first. He was hit with a wave of utter hopelessness and sadness. Jenny. Was. Gone. He didn't understand why or how but she was gone.

"**Do not despair, young one." **A voice broke through the fog in Julian's brain. It was a chillingly familiar voice. That of the eldest Shadow Man, who had erased Julian in exchange for Jenny's safety.

Julian looked up through tears.

"**Your... human..." **He spat the word as if it was unspeakable, "**She is not lost to you."**

In an instant Julian was on his feet. He held the Shadow Man's gaze with his ice blue eyes and hissed "Where is she? What did you do to her? I swear I'll kill –"

"**Peace." **The Shadow Man smiled slightly at Julian's fury. "**I did not do anything to her. Her life is beneath my notice now that the debt was repaid by your pathetic sacrifice."**

Now Julian was frowning. "If you didn't take her then... who did?"

The Shadow Man glanced upwards at the sky full of swirling grey shapes. Julian had previously thought they were clouds, but now he could see they were distinctly human-shaped. **"Limbo."**

Silently Julian raised his eyebrows, gesturing for the Shadow Man to explain.

The Shadow Man sighed and said in a monotonous voice, as if he'd explained this a thousand of times before: **"Limbo is a world of souls who never made it to the Afterlife and those who are brain dead. It is not the natural way of things for a human to come to Limbo and spend an extraordinary amount of time here. However, given your manipulation of this world, Jenny was able to come here and not be immediately harmed by the environment. But Limbo was eating away at her mind whilst she was here. Did you not sense it?"**

Thinking back now, Julian remembered how Jenny was always a little lightheaded and strangely calm when she was with him. And she did occasionally fall asleep, but she always woke up. Except for this time.

Slowly coming to terms with the facts, Julian turned to face the Shadow Man. "Is she gone forever?"

Unable to hide his glee at Julian's misery, the Shadow Man smiled crookedly. **"Most definitely. Only a fool would go after her into the Sky of Souls. Many have tried and many have failed. If you go in after your precious Jenny, you will probably die."**

He didn't even have a second of hesitation. "Tell me how to get up there."

If the Shadow Man was surprised that Julian was risking his life for a human, he didn't show it. Perhaps the Shadow Men had finally grown to learn that Julian did love Jenny, no matter how much they mocked him for it. **"You must simply will yourself up there. It is the same way that you can control this flimsy Limbo world. Focus your energy on the destination. The Sky of Souls."**

Attempting to clear his mind, the youngest of the Shadow Men thought about the Sky of Souls. That large empty expanse of air, teeming with souls and life-after-death. And Jenny. He had to find Jenny. As that final thought flooded his mind, Julian felt himself get lighter and lighter... higher and higher... up and up... into the Sky...


	7. Only the Sky

Chapter Seven

Only the Sky

The first thing Julian noticed about the Sky was how empty it was. There were hundreds, possibly thousands, of humanoid shadows floating around. The sense of despair and loss perpetrated the air. However, Julian had grown up in the Shadow World. He was used to that underlying feeling of terror and sorrow. But this was different somehow. He didn't know how, it just was. There was a grey fog filling the air, through which the shadows flew.

A woman flitted past him. She was close enough for Julian to see her face and he reeled in horror. Her hair was lank and greasy and her face was sunken and pale grey. The Sky was empty of any colour, which explained her grey hue, but that didn't explain the fact that she had no heart. There was literally a gaping hole over her chest where her heart must have been once. Through the hole, Julian could see a small creature nestling in her chest. He immediately likened it to a tiny, wizened, child. It was chewing on some kind of grey flesh, presumably from the woman's insides. However she didn't appear to notice or, if she did notice, be unduly bothered by that fact.

She smiled nonsensically at Julian. "It's always nice to see a new face around here." She said in a voice devoid of any feeling. "But there's something different about you..." She reached out to touch him and Julian stared in absolute horror as one of the tendrils of fog whipped out and wrapped itself around the woman's outstretched arm. It hauled the arm back before she had a chance to touch Julian and she didn't make a sound of pain at all. But her eyes widened and it looked as if she was screaming without a sound. Julian knew that eyes didn't make noises, but her eyes were screaming. The child-creature in her chest cackled and the woman looked away from Julian, silently floating past him.

Feeling incredibly sickened, Julian looked at the other shadowy figures of the Sky and realised that they were all in different stages of being devoured by the child-creatures. They were nothing like Julian had seemed in the Shadow World and he quickly reasoned that they were personifications of Limbo. The fog kept the people of the Sky in check, disabling them from contact with one another. The child-creatures were there to torment them but they weren't allowed to show any signs of pain. Suddenly a terrible thought hit Julian. Jenny would soon be like these prisoners of the Sky unless he got to her!

Desperately attempting to spot Jenny among the other people, Julian moved through the fog with surprising ease. Whereas the other inhabitants of the Sky moved sluggishly, he moved with all the speed he moved with on Earth. Frowning at this, Julian decided to try something. He reached out to the nearest Sky-prisoner and touched them on the arm. They didn't seem to notice, but Julian felt their freezing skin beneath his fingers. He could touch things.

_It must be the fact that I'm a Shadow Man,_ Julian thought, _The Sky has no control over me as it does with these people._

Pleased by this thought, Julian glanced around quickly. It would certainly be much easier to get her now that he knew he could touch things without the fog's intervention.

His heart skipped a beat as his eyes settled on a grey figure. She still had all her major body parts and no child-creatures had touched her yet, but she was without colour. Her once beautiful honey-coloured hair was a darker shade of grey and her once shining skin was pale and colourless. But it was still unmistakably Jenny.

"Jenny!" Julian shouted over to her. She didn't seem to hear him. He frantically moved over to her, jostling around the Sky-prisoners without a care. He just had to get to Jenny.

When he finally reached her, she turned to look at him. Her eyes were as sad as he had ever seen them and she was staring at him like he had just signed her death sentence by merely being there. She looked on the verge of tears and it was all Julian could do to not kiss her right then and there.

"Hello Julian." Jenny said in a flat voice. "It's not good you are here. Now you will stay here forever." Then something flickered in her eyes. If he hadn't known better, he'd have said it was happiness. But it was only there for a second. "But that is good, in a way. Now we can be together for all eternity. Just like we wanted."

Julian shook his head fast. "No Jenny. I'm getting you out of here. Just take my hand Jenny, and I'll get you back safely. I promise. I won't let Limbo hurt you." His voice had a desperate edge to it now. "Come on Jenny. Let's go."

He reached his hand out to allow her to grab it. Jenny didn't move to, and instead stared at it like she hadn't the faintest idea what he was doing. She hung there, frozen for a few seconds, before glancing up at him. "You can be ever so silly sometimes Julian." She said. This time she smiled for real, but it wasn't a nice smile. It was the smile of a grinning skull. The smile of someone whose world had collapsed and they had nothing left. It was the smile of someone who was condemned to death. "Don't you know? Nobody ever leaves the Sky. Even if they want to. Nobody ever has and nobody ever will. We will be here forever."

With that Jenny turned away from him, revealing her back. Julian saw a small child-creature clinging to the material of her shirt, cackling and hissing as it dug its little claws into her skin. It turned to face Julian and smiled a sharp-toothed grin. "Isn't it wonderful, Julian?" Jenny said.


	8. Only Love

Chapter Eight

Only Love

_...Jenny turned away from him, revealing her back. Julian saw a small child-creature clinging to the material of her shirt, cackling and hissing as it dug its little claws into her skin. It turned to face Julian and smiled a sharp-toothed grin. "Isn't it wonderful, Julian?" Jenny said..._

"No!" Julian shouted, "It's not wonderful!" He shook his head furiously. "You're not my Jenny! _My_ Jenny would want to come back with me!"

Pictures flooded Julian's mind of _his _Jenny: When she was five years old and she pricked her finger on a rose thorn, dying the green grass with a few droplets of red; when she was nine and she bought her first pair of high heels and tottered around the house; when she was fifteen and she got drunk and laughed that beautiful laugh that made his world light up... Jenny laughing drunkenly... Jenny smiling when Tom told her he loved her... Jenny crying when her cat Dusty died... Jenny screaming when she was trapped in the Nightmare House... Jenny kissing him for the last time...

Julian opened his eyes and saw the Jenny before him. This Jenny was different. She had turned around now to face him but her expression was dead. Her eyes were wide and empty, nothing of those emotions he had seen in them before. Her mouth wasn't smiling like usual, but instead formed a neutral line. The child-creature had crawled onto her shoulder now and was gently caressing her neck with its long sharp nails. The sight made Julian's blood run cold. Whatever had happened to his Jenny, she was still inside this Sky-prison Jenny and he had to save her. Because he loved her.

Those feelings that had grown for all the years he had spent secretly watching her welled up inside him again. How much he cared when he pricked her finger when she was five; how proud he was that she was growing up when she was nine; how amused he was when she was drunk at fifteen... And, underneath all of that, was his love for her. That never-ending all-encompassing love. A feeling so strong that he would do anything to make her his. He would steal her away to the Shadow World, eliminate Tom as competition, force her into Limbo. But he did all of these things because he wanted her to be happy.

Suddenly realisation hit Julian. He loved Jenny so much that he wanted her to be happy. _Even if she wasn't happy with him._ Her ultimate pleasure might not lie with him at all, but with Tom and her friends. And Julian cared about her so much that he finally understood that he was ready to let her choose. It didn't matter if she didn't want him. Just as long as she was happy wherever she was.

With that thought, he screamed at the top of his voice: "I LOVE YOU JENNY THORNTON!"

Because everyone in the Sky had been stripped of any real emotions other than pain and sorrow, they had forgotten what love was. But with that shout, Julian set them free and reminded them how powerful love could be. As his words spread out across the Sky they touched everywhere and everyone. With every person they touched, colour spread across them and their eyes cleared. A collective gasp rose up as every person felt again. However, as the love spread, it also touched the child-creatures. Being creatures purely made of hatred and torment, they shrieked as love touched them. Their skin began to blister and peel. As fast as lightning, they flung themselves off the Sky-prisoners, trying to escape the love that filled the air. But it was everywhere. Choking on the alien emotions, the child-creatures clawed at their throats desperately. Finally, they all collapsed and simply faded from sight.

Looking around now in confusion, the Sky-prisoners didn't seem to know what to do. They were free of the fog and the child-creatures... Now what? As if in answer the now blue sky opened up in a jagged hole. The hole was full of a white light and the Sky-prisoners began to glance at one another. One by one they floated willingly up into the light.

Julian had no idea what lay beyond for them but he knew that, whatever it was, it was where they were meant to be. That was the place that Jenny was meant to have dreamt him to. But now he couldn't be more pleased that she had forgotten to.

Jenny! Julian quickly scanned the few remaining Sky-prisoners; the crowd was lessening now as they flew towards the light. But there she was, not moving at all. Her colour had returned and she was just as beautiful as he remembered her. She was his Jenny again.

She turned to face him, slowly and doubtfully. "Julian?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"It's alright Jenny." He said in a comforting voice. He was struggling to keep his voice from breaking from relief that she safe. "It's over now. You can go home."

But Jenny frowned now. "I don't want to go home. Not without you anyway."

Thinking he'd misheard, Julian blinked twice. "What... What do you mean?"

Laughing a little, Jenny floated over to him. She didn't stop until she was centimetres from his face, looking up right into his electric blue eyes. "I mean I love you Julian. I mean I want to be with you forever."


	9. Only Loves Him

Chapter Nine

Only Loves Him

Jenny blinked in the harsh light of her bedroom. She let out a strangled sigh and rolled over. That wasn't the first time she'd dreamt of Julian, but it was most certainly the most elaborate. She blinked several times to clear her eyes of gathering tears. She had really thought she'd had...

"Julian!"

He was lying on her bed next to her. His white hair was splayed on the pillow, the early morning light causing it to glow unearthly. His blue eyes flickered and he looked around. "Jenny?" He said in a quiet voice.

That was all it took for him to fly to his feet and embrace her tightly. Neither of them really understood how they had come back from Limbo, but all that mattered was they had each other.

"Did... did you mean what you said in the Sky?" Julian whispered, hardly daring to ask.

Jenny smiled. "That I loved you? Of course."

"Say it again."

"I love –"

She didn't even have to finish the sentence before his hands clasped her face gently and bought it up to meet his. They shut their eyes and kissed.

This was probably the most romantic kiss they'd ever shared; both of them open to their feelings and more comfortable having confessed them to one another. It felt like the very beginning of a new relationship.

But in reality, it was the end.

They broke apart at the sound of footsteps thumping towards the room, and Jenny felt herself begin to tremble, both happy at the idea of seeing her friends and, even more so, mortified that she might very well lose the love of her life. Julian's eyes closed and his arms tightened around her. He turned his head and met her gaze, and in that instant Jenny knew he didn't expect to survive this next confrontation, and she squeezed her eyes shut to stop anymore tears, burying her head in his chest. Julian sighed and lowered his mouth to Jenny's ear, whispering the last thing he might ever say directly to her.

"Whatever happens next, don't stand up when they attack me. Maybe that way, you won't asked any awkward questions. Whatever happens to me, look after yourself. I can't bear the thought you getting hurt. And, remember always, Jenny Thornton that you are the most important person in the universe and that I love you."

Then, he let her go.

"Jenny! Open up!" Came a familiar voice, and Jenny couldn't help but be pleased to hear Dee's voice.

"Jenny!" yelled another voice, and Jenny recognised it to be Michael.

Then, she suddenly felt cold, and she realised that Julian had stepped away, releasing his grip on her.

"Please –" she began but he shook his head, before whispering one word.

"_Hide_."

She didn't have to be told twice; Jenny dived to stand beside the wardrobe, back pressed against the wall, just as the bedroom door opened.

A whole crowd of familiar people burst in; Dee, Audrey, Michael, Zach, Summer and, lastly, Tom. He looked furious and wonderful at the same time. But nothing could compete with Julian's eerie perfection as he stood, calmly watching them.

"Julian," Tom hissed, working his way to the front of the group. Julian grinned widely, holding up his hands in weak defence and stepping back.

"Where is Jenny?" He demanded, his voice colder and angrier than Jenny had ever heard it, "_What have you done to my Jenny_? Where is she?"

Jenny held her breath, not wanting to be seen just yet. She didn't want to get in the middle of this.

"Would you believe…she doesn't want to be found by you?"

Tom, as well as everyone with him, looked genuinely baffled, "What?"

"She doesn't want to be found."

"What are you talking about?" Audrey asked, "We're her _friends_. She knows she will be safe with us."

"Oh, I'm sure that she doesn't doubt _that_," Julian chuckled. Jenny's head began to spin with that feeling of everything sliding out of her control.

"But, and difficult as I know it'll be to believe, she likes _me_ as well. Very much so in fact!"

Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand – what was he _doing_?

"That's a lie," Zach snarled, shaking his head. "Jenny's over you. She loves Tom..." His voice faltered. "She... she loves Tom..."

"Oh, no, really? She _proved _it." Julian smiled. "You know she was quite happy to stay with me? She and I had a nice little trip to Limbo and she confessed her undying love for me. Sorry Tommy. Still, don't be a sore loser."

There was a dumbfounded silence. Jenny's mouth opened and closed like a fish, unable to say anything – after everything he'd just said, he went and revealed it all like that!

"You son of a bitch."

Jenny was snapped out of it by these harsh words, and lifted her head to see Summer, the innocent terrified little Summer, standing forward, holding a gun out towards him. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

_No. No, she's not gonna shoot him. She can't. This is Summer for God's sake. She can't shoot someone... _Jenny thought desperately.

But it was happening.

Summer pulled the trigger.

There was a bang.

And Jenny couldn't stop the scream.


	10. Only Just

Chapter Ten

Only Just

The room fell into silence, as everybody's eyes flew to Jenny. She had stepped out of her hiding place, one hand pressed to her mouth in worry and the other slightly outstretched towards Julian, her eyes unfocused, but staring at him.

Everyone was in such a state of surprise that only Julian seemed to have noticed the bullet had missed, flying within inches of his head to embed in the wall. He swallowed thickly, silently cursing himself for feeling momentarily afraid for his life, and he raised his trembling hands into the air.

"I'm okay," he announced, causing every eye to suddenly focus back on him, "I-it missed. No death today,"

Then a smug, cheeky grin appeared on his face and he said jokingly, "Sorry to have ruined the show,"

Jenny's eyes fluttered shut and she gave a shaky sigh, the outstretched hand coming to rest over her heart.

The whole room lapsed into silence, as Julian glared icily at Summer, secretly planning her demise, Jenny counted her lucky stars that the bullet had missed while simultaneously cursing Julian for provoking Summer, and everybody else was just plain _confused_.

Finally, the awkwardness was broken.

"Jenny?" Michael whispered. Then he rushed towards her and pulled her into a hug. "Thank God you're okay. We thought you were –"

"Dead." Audrey interrupted him. "We thought you were dead. You complete _moron_ Jenny! What's been wrong with you? You just locked yourself in your room for ten hours straight and didn't pick up any calls or texts or anything!"

"Well..." Zach said in a lazy voice. He was the only one who hadn't moved to rush over to Jenny. His eyes slowly slid over to face Julian. "It's obvious why she did that..."

The silence returned and everyone turned to look at Julian.

He half-smiled at them. "I guess I should explain?"

Tom took a small step forwards. His face was clouded with utter fury and he eyed the gun that Summer had dropped warily. "Yeah. You better explain alright."

Julian sighed. "Jenny promised to dream me into a world of light. I'm sure you all remember that?" The short silence confirmed the answer. "However... Jenny got distracted. She didn't dream about me. I never made it to that world she promised me."

Jenny gave a little gasp. "Oh Julian I'm so sorry!"

"Let me finish."

Jenny lapsed into silence.

"However, I found myself in a world called Limbo. It was neither Heaven or Hell or anything like any world I have been to before. It vaguely resembled the Shadow World, but it was more flimsy. Soon, as in the Shadow World, I found myself able to break down the walls between worlds. I began to call to Jenny in her dreams."

With that Jenny shifted uncomfortably. "It's true." She said quietly. They all turned back to Julian for him to continue.

"Eventually Limbo took her. With every time she stayed, she grew more and more tired. Limbo demands souls. With one as pure as Jenny's it could not resist. Being a Shadow Man..." Here he paused for a second, looking at the ground in shame. "I have no soul."

After another brief moment he continued. "I had to go up to the Sky of Souls to reclaim Jenny from Limbo. It was... horrible..."

Nobody asked him to elaborate. They were all privately wondering what was so bad that it made even Julian shudder.

"I remember that." Jenny said, surprisingly. "Not very clearly, but I remember a little bit. Everything was grey and fuzzy... But then you were... You were glowing Julian."

He shrugged shyly. "I just kind of threw my love at Limbo. Being a place of darkness it couldn't take that kind of emotion. I guess Jenny and I got kicked out for loving too much." He smiled at that thought.

"So what?" Tom said softly. No one had noticed him take a slow step towards Julian. His eyes were hard as stone and just as dark. His voice was croaky and harsh. He turned to Jenny, pain visible in his eyes.

"Is that what happened? Is that how it goes, huh? You love Julian now?"


	11. Only Pity

Chapter Eleven

Only Pity

Jenny looked at the floor in silence. Her face was riddled with several emotions at once: Confusion, distress and, finally, acceptance. She looked up slowly to face Tom, her head craning backwards with such clarity that every muscle twitching in her neck was visible.

She stared at him right in the eyes. Momentarily, Jenny wondered where that spark had gone. That thing that had attached them, connected them, linked them... Where was it? Of course she still cared about Tom's well-being, but she wasn't _in love_ him anymore. She didn't want to stare into his eyes forever. She didn't want to kiss him. All Jenny could think about was Julian's presence right beside her, like a dark angel. It was all she could do not to turn to him and just collapse into his loving embrace. But first she had to sort out Tom.

"Yes Tom." She said in a clear voice. "I am in love with Julian."

It was as if Jenny's words were bullets and Tom had been shot. His shoulder jerked back for a second, his eyes wide with obvious pain. He took a few stumbling steps backwards, weak at the knees and quivering slightly. Suddenly he straightened up. His eyes were as cold as ice and his mouth was a perfectly straight line. But that wasn't what frightened Jenny. No, what scared her was how his expression was so... empty. She'd always assumed you could see someone's heart breaking in their eyes. But she couldn't see anything in Tom's eyes. It was as if he didn't even have a heart to break.

Jenny was so caught up in Tom that she didn't even realise Julian had stepped to her side. In fact she wouldn't have been aware he was there if he hadn't put his arm casually around her shoulder. Jenny didn't need to look at him to know that he was smiling triumphantly at Tom. Tom let in a deep breath and blinked very fast. Jenny had known him long enough to recognise that meant he was trying his upmost not to cry. It seemed like Julian knew that too.

"Oh get over it Tom." He said sharply. "You had your chance. You failed. You didn't really do anything for her, did you? You just expected her to love you because of your _good looks_ and your charm." He paused for a second, as if to let Tom realise how foolish that had been. "I _died _for her." He gave a small laugh. "Well... We all knew how it'd end up, didn't we?"

Something snapped inside Tom. His eyes flashed with fury and he lunged at Julian. In two steps he was in front of him. Julian didn't resist as Tom grabbed his jacket and shoved him up against the wall.

Nobody made a sound or a move to stop him. In a way it was like everything had been building to this moment, this battle between Tom and Julian. Summer had retreated so far back she was flat against the door and Zach looked as calm as ever. Dee seemed nervous and ready to leap in and help Tom, while Audrey and Michael stood watching worriedly. But none of them intervened. This had to happen.

Julian was smiling slightly as Tom took deep fast breaths. His face was inches from the Shadow Man's and he was gripping Julian's jacket so hard his knuckles went white.

"You stole her from me," Tom hissed. "She was _mine_ and you took her from me. I don't know what you did to her or how you manipulated her but what she feels for you... It's nothing. You hear me? NOTHING compared to how she felt for me." He pulled Julian off the wall and slammed him back against it. Julian didn't say anything. "She loved me! I was going to spend forever with her... She loved... me..." His voice tailed off into an incoherent sob. He released his grip on Julian's jacket and collapsed onto the floor at his feet.

The look on Julian's face was nothing less than clear disgust. "Now that's finally over with." He said smugly. "Nice show Tommy. As entertaining as ever." He turned, grinning to Jenny.

She hadn't moved an inch throughout the entire ordeal. Like the others, she knew that this had to happen. She didn't feel any remorse for losing Tom and gaining Julian, only a tiny niggle of pity for the crying boy on the floor. But one look into Julian's perfect blue eyes and that feeling was gone.

Jenny blinked and, in that second, she severed all romantic ties she'd ever had with Tom. He was just a boy from her past. There was no more Tom-and-Jenny. Tom was history. Julian was her future now. Happy in this realisation, Jenny walked over to him and kissed him straight on the lips, in front of all her friends and the weeping Tom.


	12. Only Jenny

Chapter Twelve

Only Jenny

All he could see was its black outline and its long muzzle.

Slowly, as if coming out of a trance, he began to move.

The sound of his own heartbeat was all Tom could hear. Thudding in his ears. It was so loud he figured that everyone else must hear it too. Beating a constant rhythm, sending blood pulsing through his body. One two three four. One two three four.

So close. So close. If nobody noticed him, he could reach out and grab the gun…

One two three four.

He got it! His hand closed over the cool metal, the gun feeling heavy and foreign in his hand.

One.

Nobody was looking at him. They were all locked on to Jenny and Julian kissing passionately. _His _Jenny. Tom knew she was under some kind of spell or delusion. He had to save her. He had to make her his.

Two.

Tom's hand gripped the gun, and he slid his finger onto the trigger. He held it out in front of her, arms straight, and took aim. Straight at Julian's heart, if he had one. This would kill him for sure.

Three.

"This is for Jenny," He whispered. "This is for me."

Four.

And he pulled the trigger.

The gunshot shattered the room. The aim was true; Julian staggered backward. His eyes sought Tom's, holding them for a moment, and he maintained the contact. He wanted Julian to know that it was _he_ who had shot him. Him, Thomas Locke, weak and pathetic and unworthy of Jenny. _H__e_ had caused the Shadow Man's death.

And Tom held Julian's blue eyes to his own even as they began to fade. Out the corner of his eye, Tom saw Michael grip Audrey's arm and give a small twisted sob. Summer was shocked that Tom had done what she had failed to do. They all remained silent, and nobody moved to help Julian. They were all enraptured.

The scream that tore out of Jenny's throat was enough to break their gaze from the sight of Julian fading away into dust. It had happened so quickly, he had faded so fast, that he didn't even have time to say goodbye to Jenny.

She had collapsed onto the floor. Her wordless grief thickened the air. This time nobody could stop her even if they wanted to.

The gun was centimetres away from her clenched fist. Suddenly it was in her hand. There was a shot. There was blood. There was Jenny.

As if the rest of the world had melted away, Tom could only see Jenny. She was lying in a smattering of red, the gun by her side. All he could see was her body. All he could hear was his heart, beating so fast he couldn't distinguish it now.

OneTwoThreeFour. OneTwoThreeFour.


	13. Only Julian

Epilogue

Only Julian

His eyes refocus.

Slowly a scene unfolds. A beach, with waves rolling, and white sand as far as the eye can see. A palm tree waves lazily at him.

To his right, somebody slurps on a cracked coconut.

Julian turns his head and his blue eyes meet with the sight of Jenny. She is lying on the sand beside him, her hair spilling out over the beach. She is smiling at him and running the tiny grains through her fingers. "Hello Julian," She smiles.

It's so odd: she seems so calm whereas Julian is so confused. "Where are we?" He whispers.

"Don't you remember?" Jenny asks, raising a perfect eyebrow and grinning slightly. Then she sighs slightly "I guess not. You've never been somewhere like here before, have you?"  
Julian frowns. "Somewhere like what?"

Jenny flings her arm widely at the beach. "Somewhere like this you moron!" She laughs at his expression

Julian looks around blankly at the beach He has no recollection of it at all. "Is it the Shadow World?" He asks, but immediately knows it isn't. There's something... different in the air. He can't quite place it. It feels like that emotion he feels when he sees Jenny. But it's more than inside him, it's everywhere. This emotion is in every breath and the very sand beneath him.

Julian sits himself on the warm sand, propping one knee up and resting his arm on it. He understands now, as Jenny does, why they are here. Nothing needs to be said or done about it, not yet anyway. Somehow they are beyond that. They just need to sit with each for now; the other things will come later.

Distantly, Julian wonders what Tom and the others will do now. Will little Tommy lose his mind without his precious Jenny? Will they cope without Jenny? For a second Julian cares, then that feeling slips away. With a kind of shock, he realises he is beyond caring about them now. They are on Earth and he is Here.

As if realising how silly it is to call a place simply Here, Julian turns to Jenny. "Where are we, exactly? Shall we name it?"

Jenny laughs her care-free twinkling laughter. It is so beautiful and she is so simply perfect that Julian needs to catch his breath for a moment.

"Does it need a name, Julian?" She asks him with a smile. "All that matters is that we are here together. This is the afterlife we were meant to have together."

Julian nods contentedly. She's right, of course, they are here together and that is all that matters.

He has found the place of light that Jenny promised him... 

The End

_**A/N: So that's it folks! It's been a wonderful journey and I might do a sequel depending on the final feeling of the end of this story. Do you think it needs a sequel? **_

_**I'd like to thank:**_

_**Purple Halo, Twilight Chick 01, NightGirl25, bloodyXfangs, iHeartJENNYXJULIAN, craizypet, Paranormalcy, Shana 113, RockMusicloverx, **__**KatieGallagherDare**__**, TheLadyAthena, someonelikeyouu, AJ and Ramen. **_

_**Thanks for all the reviews and constructive criticism. **_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Madasmonty**_


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